Sydney, Australia

By popular demand (by which I mean my grandma asked me to write this), I’ve decided to include Sydney, Australia in my “tourist in your own city” series. However, this was not a city I “lived in” perse. I was studying abroad and anyone who has studied abroad knows that this is really just a 4 month vacation. So I’m going to write about my time in Sydney, but I’ll also segue into my next series about my semester abroad. I’ll talk about all of the different places I traveled to from Sydney, starting with Sydney itself. Stay tuned for New Zealand, the Outback, Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef (Fraser Island and Lizard Island), and Melbourne. *Note: Australia and even more so New Zealand are the adventure capitals of the world. If you’re scared of heights you’ll want to avoid half of my recommendations. Or get over the fear and have fun!

So, here is my photo journal of my time in Sydney. Please excuse the clothing choices, this was 10 years ago.

Obviously if you go to Sydney, you will make a trip down to the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour bridge.

If you get a chance, see a show at the Opera House. The show we saw was a comedy and we didn’t really understand any of it because it was not American humor and we fell asleep in the center of the front row. BUT I can now say I’ve seen a show at the Sydney Opera House. Can you?

And you absolutely must do the bridge climb. It is incredible. If you can get a sunrise or a sunset climb, even better. (First of many amazing adventures you’ll miss if you’re scared of fun.)

Both the bridge and the Opera House are down by the water in an area called Circular Quay (pronounced key). There is so much to do down there, and it is really the heart of Sydney. I was there multiple times a week when I lived there, so I did a lot in this area. It’s a great place to walk around on a nice day and just take in the culture of Sydney. Try to find a guy playing a didgeridoo.

While you’re there, you can visit the Royal Botanic Garden. This is mostly what you’d expect from a Botanic Garden – filled with beautiful trees and flowers. However, there is also a huge bat population living on the trees during the day, and visit at dusk to watch all 20,000 of them come to life.

Head over to the Sydney Aquarium, which is obviously THE place to find NEMO.

Right next door is WILD LIFE, Sydney Zoo (this is not the actual zoo, but an indoor wildlife area). Catch a glimpse of a koala or a kangaroo (if Sydney is not your only stop on your Australia trip, you can have better Koala or Kangaroo encounters in the outback or up north – more on that in later posts).

Sydney also has an actual outdoor zoo, the Taronga Zoo. There is some fun wildlife at the zoo, and incredible views of the city. If you have a lot of time and you really like animals, definitely take a trip there. Otherwise, go to your local zoo. You won’t see kangaroos, but there’s so much to do in Sydney and there are other opportunities to see those traditional Australia animals. I probably wouldn’t put the zoo at the top of my list, but I’m not an animal lover.

Right next to Circular Quay is an area called The Rocks. This is Sydney’s old cobblestone street area. It’s artsy and adorable, and there are some great shops to stroll through. I’m sure there’s also awesome food in this area, but unfortunately, as Jen has pointed out many times, we were young and stupid and we did a REALLY bad job of eating when we were there. The best that I can remember from this area was Pancakes on The Rocks. It’s like IHOP on crack and definitely a tourist trap, but we were totally trapped. We definitely thought it was great at the time, but if I were to go back (which I WILL one day), I will do better than this.

Not quite in this area, but just across the water and accessible by ferry is Luna Park, Sydney’s very own Coney Island. Seriously, it’s called Luna Park, so they’re basically the same. If you’re into old rundown amusement parks and carnival rides, definitely make some time for this. Isn’t everyone into old rundown amusement parks and carnival rides?

Guess what. Although we spent a ton of time downtown on the water, there was also stuff to do in other parts of the city. One of the highlights of my trip was when my parents came to visit and we took a sea plane to a remote little restaurant for lunch. I’m petrified of boats and most motorized water activities, so I was definitely scared, but the views over the city on this little plane really couldn’t be beat. I’d highly recommend this experience. Remember what I said about overcoming your fears to enjoy Australia? That’s exactly what I did, and I did not regret it. Huge shout out to the poor woman ON HER HONEYMOON who dropped her engagement ring into the harbor while stepping off the plane, and took a deep breath, pretended it didn’t happen, and proceeded to enjoy her day. We should all live our lives like this woman because experiences are more important than things.

While we’re talking about getting over your fears to enjoy Australia, I should mention the Sydney Tower Sky Walk. It is an outdoor walk around the Sydney Tower, 268 meters (879 feet) above the city. Oh, and you’re walking on glass so you can see everything under you. It’s a lot of fun, but I only got this one picture of us beforehand because we obviously were not allowed to bring anything with us on the walk other than our harnesses. Google it for more details on what this walk actually looks like.

Also, crazy story. I’m very much NOT a sports person, as you know if you’ve been paying attention. BUT I got an education credit for taking a sports education class through which we basically just went to a few sports games and learned about Rugby and Australian Rules Football. (The crazy part of the story is that I took a class about sports by choice.) I don’t remember anything I learned because I was not interested, EXCEPT that when you get a touchdown you actually have to touch the ball down. Oh, and they are allowed to really beat the shit out of each other and basically wear no padding. I don’t know which two sports these things are referring to, but I’m thinking football for the touchdown and rugby for the beating the shit out of each other? If you are a sports person definitely try to make it to a game. It’s a cultural experience.

The other two areas, besides the harbor, that we spent a lot of time in were Newtown, and the beaches. Newtown was the neighborhood closest to the University, and where our dorm was. The absolute highlight of this area is the Thai food. I did not have Thai food as good as this before going to Australia, and I have not found anything comparable since. If you walk up and down King Street you will find tons of Thai restaurants, and they’re all delicious, but if I remember correctly, Newtown Thai was our favorite. My all time favorite dish is Pad Prik Khing. If you’re into spicy, eat that.

While you’re in this area, you can also check out the University. Tom would be proud. It’s a really beautiful campus and since the weather is usually pretty good in Sydney, it’s always buzzing with people.

And then there were the beaches. I think my biggest regret was actually living close to campus and not close to the beach. Or going to the University of Sydney and not University of New South Wales. I grew up in New York and went to college in Philadelphia. Living by the beach would have been such a different experience than what I was used to. But the city was awesome too so I really can’t complain, and the busses to the beach were easy and frequent.

Anyway, Bondi Beach is the most famous in Sydney, and rightfully so. It’s beautiful, and it’s a big surfer beach.

But we actually spent more time at Coogee because it was easier to get to from where we lived, and we had friends who lived in this area (this is where UNSW is).

But the real beach highlight was the Eastern Beaches Coastal Walk from Coogee to Bondi with stops along the way at Tamarama, Bronte Beach, and Clovelly. The walk is a little over 3 miles, and the views are stunning.

I’ll leave you with this photo from the day we arrived, after 24 hours of travel and minimal sleep, and we were completely lost in a new city trying to find somewhere to buy some bedding.

And these photos of the day we left. Sydney will always hold a special place in our hearts.

And finally, this puzzle that we worked on for four months, to be destroyed upon our departure.